Definition of understanding Understanding

/ʌˌndɚstæˈndɪŋ/ - [understanding] - un•der•stand•ing

We found 24 definitions of understanding from 6 different sources.

What does understanding mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: understanding
understanding - the cognitive condition of someone who understands; "he has virtually no understanding of social cause and effect"
		apprehension, discernment, savvy
		knowing a clear and certain mental apprehension
		comprehension an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result); "how you can do that is beyond my comprehension"; "he was famous for his comprehension of American literature"
		self-knowledge an understanding of yourself and your goals and abilities
		smattering a slight or superficial understanding of a subject
		grasp, appreciation, hold an increase in price or value; "an appreciation of 30% in the value of real estate"
		grasping the act of gripping something firmly with the hands (or the tentacles)
		hindsight understanding the nature of an event after it has happened; "hindsight is always better than foresight"
		brainstorm, brainwave, insight (neurophysiology) rapid fluctuations of voltage between parts of the cerebral cortex that are detectable with an electroencephalograph
understanding - the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises; "they had an agreement that they would not interfere in each other's business"; "there was an understanding between management and the workers"
		agreement
		statement a document showing credits and debits
		conspiracy, confederacy a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)
		fair-trade agreement an agreement (illegal in the United States) between the manufacturer of a trademarked item of merchandise and its retail distributors to sell the item at a price at or above the price set by the manufacturer
		covenant (Bible) an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return
		unilateral contract a one-sided agreement whereby you promise to do (or refrain from doing) something in return for a performance (not a promise)
		sales agreement, sale a particular instance of selling; "he has just made his first sale"; "they had to complete the sale before the banks closed"
		term, condition any distinct quantity contained in a polynomial; "the general term of an algebraic equation of the n-th degree"
		bargain, deal an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each; "he made a bargain with the devil"; "he rose to prominence through a series of shady deals"
		working agreement an informal agreement to work together
		gentlemen's agreement a personal agreement based on honor and not legally binding
		written agreement a legal document summarizing the agreement between parties
		submission the act of submitting; usually surrendering power to another
		entente, entente cordiale a friendly understanding between political powers
		oral contract an agreement that is not in writing and is not signed by the parties but is a real existing contract that lacks only the formal requirement of a memorandum to render it enforceable in litigation
		reservation the act of keeping back or setting aside for some future occasion
		settlement something settled or resolved; the outcome of decision making; "they finally reached a settlement with the union"; "they never did achieve a final resolution of their differences"; "he needed to grieve before he could achieve a sense of closure"
		severance agreement an agreement on the terms on which an employee will leave
understanding - an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion; "his sympathies were always with the underdog"; "I knew I could count on his understanding"
		sympathy
		disposition, tendency, inclination your usual mood; "he has a happy disposition"
understanding - the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination; "we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil"
		reason, intellect
		mental faculty, faculty, module one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
Adjective
understanding - characterized by understanding based on comprehension and discernment and empathy; "an understanding friend"

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Wiktionary

understanding (Noun)
Mental, sometimes emotional process of comprehension, assimilation of knowledge, which is subjective by its nature.
understanding (Noun)
Reason or intelligence, ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge, ability to infer.
understanding (Noun)
Opinion, judgement or outlook.
understanding (Noun)
An informal contract, mutual agreement.
understanding (Noun)
A reconciliation of differences.
understanding (Noun)
Sympathy.
understanding (Noun)
All that people individually sense and feel of themselves.
understanding (Verb)
Present participle of understand.
understanding (Adjective)
Showing compassion.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

understanding (p. pr. & vb. n.)
of Understand
understanding (a.)
Knowing; intelligent; skillful; as, he is an understanding man.
understanding (n.)
The act of one who understands a thing, in any sense of the verb; knowledge; discernment; comprehension; interpretation; explanation.
understanding (n.)
An agreement of opinion or feeling; adjustment of differences; harmony; anything mutually understood or agreed upon; as, to come to an understanding with another.
understanding (n.)
The power to understand; the intellectual faculty; the intelligence; the rational powers collectively conceived an designated; the higher capacities of the intellect; the power to distinguish truth from falsehood, and to adapt means to ends.
understanding (n.)
Specifically, the discursive faculty; the faculty of knowing by the medium or use of general conceptions or relations. In this sense it is contrasted with, and distinguished from, the reason.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

understanding
The ability to think about something and use concepts to be able to deal adequately with this.
understanding
The cognitive condition of someone who understands.

Wikipedia

Understanding means to realize what people mean when they do or say something. It is more than simply "knowing" something, and is closer to "comprehending" it.